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September 1, 2009
Shorties (Gorillaz, Greatest Apocalyptic Novels, and more)
BBC News reports that Damon Albarn is collaborating with The Horrors on the third Gorillaz album.
Brainz lists the greatest apocalyptic novels of all time.
The Guardian has news of the new band of Geoff Barrow of Portishead, BEAK>.
The result, which is currently streaming through the band's website, bears traces of Portishead's eerieness, but also that of heavier acts signed to Barrow's Invada Records label. There's a krautrock aspect too, together with the swampy, faraway vocals characteristic of early post-punk (or, er, the US underground circa 2009).
Charlie Fink of Noah and the Whale talks to the Wrexham Chronicle.
Drowned in Sound reviews the band's new album, The First Days of Spring.
Ensnaring the listener from the off, it's a strikingly sparse and minimal record, yet rousingly epic at the same time. This is music for the movies, no doubt, and you find yourself directing a small scale production as images move through your mind.
Nick Cave talks to the Guardian about the multimedia edition of his new novel, The Death of Bunny Munro.
"Bunny Munro was perfect for this kind of thing," said Cave. "Being a musician as well, I've been able to provide all sorts of other things to make it as interesting an experience as possible to read this book on the iPhone … The strangest thing for me is that almost all musicians feel that we are chasing the tail of something beyond our grasp with music downloading and so on but, quite by accident, with the publishing of this book I'm suddenly involved with something that is taking the bull by the horns and that's quite exciting."
Paste interviews Polvo guitarist Dave Brylawski about the band's reunion.
PopMatters interviews Ben Chasny of Six Organs of Admittance.
I hear a lot of Bert Jansch, Leo Kottke, Robbie Basho and John Fahey in your music. When did you discover their type of guitar playing and what was it that appealed to you as a guitarist yourself?
Bert and Leo, it’s a yes. Not so much Fahey and Basho for myself. It’s all about the left hand on the guitar for me, not so much the right. Maybe that is because I am more of an electric guitar player than an acoustic. That’s the difference between the English and the American players, generally. Except maybe Peter Walker. I got into it about 15 years ago. Back then when everyone was dropping solo noise guitar records, doing an acoustic record was a bit contrary. Nowadays if seems a bit opposite of that.
Tao Lin interviews Malcolm Gladwell for Gigantic Magazine.
2. What are some things you were really interested in the past but today have little or no interest in? (Do not elaborate, just state the things.)
Writing letters. Major League Baseball. The Real World. G. I. Joe. Las Vegas. Shrinks. Hip Hop. William F. Buckley.
On sale at Amazon MP3: the Black Crowes' new 20-track Before The Frost...Until The Freeze album for $3.99.
Author Jonathan Ames talks to the Philadelphia Daily News about creating the series Bored for HBO.
GeekDad lists 7 comics off the beaten path.
Doublecheck Your Head is a free and legal album featuring mashups of tracks from the Beastie Boys' recently remastered Check Your Head.
The Los Angeles Times profiles Continuum's 33 1/3 series of books on seminal albums.
Imagine a Venn diagram with two circles: one for book nerds, one for rock geeks. At the intersection, you’ll find a lot of opinionated people with glasses, having arguments about the exact point in time when a particular author or musician ceased to be cool. You’ll find paychecks cashed and spent entirely at bookstores or record shops on the same day. You’ll find a great deal of love and devotion, and you’ll find the slim, pocket-sized volumes that make up Continuum’s album-oriented 33 1/3 imprint.
The Times Online examines The 99, a comic featturing Muslim superheroes.
The franchise, which was created as a cartoon strip three years ago to counter the effects of jihadist agitprop on Muslim minds, is poised to make its debut on British television this year. An animated series is being produced by Endemol, the Dutch company that made Big Brother internationally ubiquitous. Its mission: to instill old-fashioned Islamic values in Christian, Jewish and atheist children.
IGN creates an "ultimate mix" of Rolling Stones songs.
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tags: music books popculture indie news
